13 hurt in NYC Theater District bus crash

Aug. 5, 2014
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A woman, her arm bandaged and in a sling, leaves after being treated at the scene of a traffic accident apparently involving double-decker tour buses in New York's Times Square on Tuesday. / Bebeto Matthews, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

NEW YORK (AP) - A traffic accident involving two double-decker tour buses in the city's Theater District on Tuesday afternoon injured 13 people, three of them seriously.

None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, the Fire Department of New York said.

The accident occurred around 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, an area of Times Square usually teeming with tourists near the TKTS discount Broadway tickets booth and the Hershey's Chocolate World store. It shut down a stretch of Seventh Avenue.

At least eight people, including several bus passengers, were treated at the scene, city officials said.

One of the buses crashed into a light pole, causing it to topple, witnesses said.

"It sounded like something was falling from really high," said Josh Price, visiting the city from Lafayette, N.J.

The glass in the front of the bus was shattered, and glass was strewn on the pavement.

Price said the scene was initially chaotic, with people running around trying to help. He said he saw one person on the ground holding his leg and bleeding.

Rose Cantillon was visiting the city from Ireland and was nearby.

"I was sitting on a bench, and I turned around and heard screaming, and I ran," she said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. Telephone calls to the tour bus companies seeking comment were not immediately returned Tuesday.

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